DAILY GK 19-21 FEB 2026
1.
NIPL SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH MALAYSIA’S PAYNET FOR QR
PAYMENTS
·
NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of National Payments Corporation
of India (NPCI), signed an agreement with Payments Network Malaysia SdnBhd (PayNet), national
payments infrastructure operator of Malaysia.
·
The collaboration aims to enable
Quick Response (QR) code based merchant transaction payments between India
and Malaysia.
·
Under Phase 1, Indianvisitors in Malaysia will be able
to use their Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-enabled application(apps)
such as Google (G) Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, to pay at Malaysian merchants that
accept the Malaysia’s DuitNow QR code by scanning the QR,
without needing cash or foreign cards.
·
Under Phase 2, Malaysiansvisiting India will be able to scan UPI QR codes at merchant locations in India and
pay using their DuitNow-linked apps or wallets.
·
The UPI payments can now be made in multiple countries, including Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE),
Nepal, Mauritius, Singapore, France, and Bhutan.
2.
RBI IMPOSED MONETARY PENALTIES ON THREE BANKS & TWO NBFCS
·
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed monetary
penalties worth Rs 1.35 crore on 5 Financial
Institutions (FIs) which include 3 banks:
CSB Bank Limited, Bank of Maharashtra (BOM), and DCB Bank Limited, along
with two Non–Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs),
IIFL Finance Limited (formerly known as IIFL Holdings Limited) and NaviFinserv Limited.
·
Penalty of Rs 63.60 lakh has been imposed on CSB Bank for
non-compliance with directions issued by RBI on ‘Scope of activities to be undertaken of Business Correspondents
(BCs)’ and ‘Customer Service in Banks’.
·
Rs 29.60 lakh has been imposed on DCB Bank due
to its failure to maintain the required Loan-To-Value (LTV) ratio in certain
gold loan accounts.
·
Overview of 2nd AI Summit Held in New Delhi – Part I
·
penalized Rs 32.50 lakh for non-compliance with
provisions of directions issued by RBI on credit information reporting in
respect of Self-Help Group (SHG) members and Know Your Customer (KYC) rules.
·
IIFL Finance was penalized for non-compliance with certain
directions issued by RBI on “asset
classification” (Rs 5.30 lakh) and NaviFinserv
Limited for non-compliance on ‘Recovery
Agents’ (Rs 3.80 lakh).
3. RBI MANDATES UNIQUE TRANSACTION
IDENTIFIER FOR OTC DERIVATIVES
·
The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) mandated
the use of Unique Transaction Identifier
(UTI) for all Over-the-Counter (OTC) derivative transactions from January 01, 2027, instead of
its previous proposed timeline i.e. from
April 01, 2026.
·
As per RBI directions, the UTI is required to be generated in line with global
guidance issued by Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and
International Organisation of Securities Commissions.
·
The RBI also specified the UTI format can maximum up to 52 characters, including
the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) of the
generation entity.
·
RBI has clarified that modifications to contract details will be considered as updates and will not require generation
of new UTI.
4.
NATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY DAY 2026 – FEBRUARY 12
·
National Productivity Day is observed annually on 12 February in
India to mark the Foundation Day of the National Productivity Council (NPC).
·
Theme: “Clusters
as Growth Engine: Maximizing Productivity in MSMEs”.
5.
INTERNATIONAL DARWIN DAY 2026 – FEBRUARY 12.
·
International Darwin Day is observed annually across the world
on February 12.
·
It is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Charles Robert Darwin, the British naturalist and geologist who
proposed the ‘Theory of Evolution by
Natural Selection’.
6.
WORLD RADIO DAY 2026 – FEBRUARY 13
·
The United Nations (UN’s) World Radio Day (WRD) is
observed annually on 13th February across the globe to honour
the role of radio as a trusted communication medium.
·
2026 Theme: “Radio and Artificial Intelligence(AI): AI is a tool, not a voice”.
·
2011, United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed
February 13 as WRD during its 36th General Conference, following a proposal by
the Spanish Radio Academy (Spain) in 2010.
·
The first WRD was observed on February 13, 2012.
7.
NATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2026 – FEBRUARY 13
·
National Women’s Day is observed annually on 13 February across India
to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu, popularly
known as the ‘Nightingale of India’ and
‘Bharat Kokila’.
·
In 1917, she co-founded the Women’s
Indian Association (WIA) along with
Annie Besant and other leaders to promote women’s rights and welfare.
·
She became
the first woman President of the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1925.
·
In 1930, she became the President of the All India Women’s Conference
(AIWC).
·
In 1931, she was also appointed President of the All-Asian Women’s
Conference (AAWC).
·
Post-Independence, she became the
first woman Governor of Independent India, serving as the Governor of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh, UP)
from 15 August 1947 until her death.
8. INTERNATIONAL EPILEPSY DAY 2026 –
FEBRUARY 9
·
International Epilepsy Day is
observed globally on the second Monday of February each year to raise awareness
about epilepsy, a neurological disorder.
·
2026 Theme:“The Epilepsy Pledge”.
·
International Epilepsy Day
is a joint initiative of the International
Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) and
the International League Against
Epilepsy (ILAE).
·
The first International Epilepsy Day was observed on 9
February 2015 (Monday).
·
Symbol: Lavender, the international flower for epilepsy.
·
The colour purple is globally recognised as the official symbol of epilepsy awareness.
·
Epilepsy Day in India is
observed annually on November
17.
9. WORLD DAY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE 2026 – FEBRUARY
20
·
The
United Nations (UN’s) World Day
of Social Justice is annually observed across the
globe on February 20 to
promote awareness of social justice issues, including poverty alleviation,
employment, gender equality, and equitable access to education, healthcare, and
social services.
·
2026
Theme: “Renewed
Commitment to Social Development and Social Justice”.
·
First
Observance Held on 20th February 2009.
